While the role of massage in sports therapy and other medical applications is well established, Reiki's esoteric reputation may leave you with some doubts. Alternatively, you may be looking for a healing experience that doesn’t leave you feeling like your practitioner knows your body more intimately than even you do. Massage therapy and Reiki are ultimately different approaches to the same goal: easing your body and mind into a more relaxed and refreshed state.
Features
Direct, hands-on tissue manipulation is the hallmark of massage therapy, according to the Stanford Medicine Cancer Center’s website. A massage therapist will use her hands to focus on areas of muscle tension to release this tension. On the other hand, a Reiki practitioner works with the area around your body rather than your muscles. According to Ontario Reiki, the website of Usui Reiki master Lorie Baker, a Reiki therapist may place her hands gently on your body or hold them 4 to 6 inches away to direct energy into your aura, the electromagnetic field that surrounds all living things.
History
According to the website Holistic Online, massage therapy has a long history. Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Chinese and Roman physicians all recommended massage as a method of treatment. Although massage is no longer a core part of mainstream medicine, its popularity as a complementary healing method is still strong.
Mikao Usui introduced Reiki as a formal method in 1922 when he opened a teaching clinic in Tokyo, Japan, according to Don Beckett, author of “Reiki: The True Story.” Similar methods of projecting chi, or energy, through the hands for the purpose of healing are thousands of years old in Asia and have their origin in chi kung meditation practices and martial arts.
Theories/Speculation
Michelle Fletcher, writing for the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine’s information website, notes that the deep tissue manipulation of massage can work to prevent sports-related injuries by relieving muscle strain in between training sessions. According to Stanford Medicine’s Cancer Center website, improved circulation is one of the core benefits of massage and can help relieve muscle tension and anxiety while inducing a relaxation response.
Reiki practitioners say Reiki energy works directly on the chakras, seven key areas on the body that naturally draw energy from your surroundings. Reiki clears away any blocks in the chakras, allowing the body to draw energy abundantly and creating the conditions for healing.
Benefits
If you’re seeking help for overworked muscles, massage therapy may be an optimal therapy for you, Fletcher says. She adds that sports massage can help athletes avoid delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a common symptom of training, especially if you’re trying out a new routine.
According to the International Center for Reiki Training, Reiki offers deep relaxation alongside relief from tension, anxiety and fear. The center’s website notes that stress reduction and some improvement of physical or psychological problems are common experiences with Reiki treatments.
Considerations
Although it may seem that other more hands-on methods of massage are more appropriate for muscular pain and that Reiki would work better on psychological or emotional problems, more overlap exists among them than you may think. In his 2009 article “Treating Depression with Massage,” available online at Massage Today, massage therapist Don McCann notes that using massage to correct the physical and anatomical components of depression can have very positive effects on mood disorders. If done correctly, Reiki can work to relieve any underlying emotions, beliefs or traumas that may underpin disease or physical pain, allowing healing to take place on all levels. If you’re considering whether you want to go for massage or Reiki, maybe you only have to ask one question: Hands on or hands off?
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